This wasn’t how the 2017 season was supposed to play out for the Oakland Raiders, a franchise that for the first time in well over a decade had realistic Super Bowl aspirations.

Sure, the defense was supposed to be underwhelming, and it has been as the team has gotten off to a 2-4 start. But the offense wasn’t supposed to be an issue. Not after the team added RB Marshawn Lynch and TE Jared Cook to an already impressive stable of skill players. And certainly not with Derek Carr poised to break into the top tier of quarterbacks after signing a record-breaking contract this offseason.

The offense has yet to click under new coordinator Todd Downing, and Carr’s numbers have taken a huge hit. His QBR of 39.9 ranks 24th in the NFL. So what’s wrong with Carr and Oakland’s offense, which hasn’t scored more than 17 points in a game since Week 2?

Here are three biggest issues, in order…

1. The running game

A lot has been made of Downing’s decision to shift to a zone-blocking scheme this season, but that schematic has been a bit overblown. The Raiders aren’t really running any more zone plays than they did a year ago but they have shifted to more of a horizontal running game, which doesn’t exactly play to the strengths of a very good offensive line.

The #Raiders have run 70 outside zone scheme runs this season (six games), six more than they did all last season (64).

The inside trio of LG Kelechi Osemele, C Rodney Hudson and RG Gabe Jackson dominate teams on runs up the gut last season. Defenses have adjusted by clogging the interior running lanes with more bodies, which has forced Oakland to attack the perimeter more than it would like to.

The result is a disjointed run game that hasn’t been able to put the quarterback in favorable down-and-distances.

2. The play-calling

What made the Raiders offense so effective last season was the synergy between the run and pass game. The offensive line opened up massive holes for backs and right when defenses loaded up the box to stop the run, former offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave would burn them with deep shots off play-action.

In 2017, Carr isn’t hitting very many deep balls and the Raiders aren’t using a whole lot of play-action.

Along w/ #Raiders NFL low 12 play action passes, Derek Carr has thrown just 10 deep passes. This once high powered offense is neutered.

That has to change if Oakland is going to be the big-play offense we all thought it would be before the season.

We’d also like to see the Raiders put more on Carr on third down. Too often in third-and-medium situations, Downing has essentially taken the ball out his quarterback’s hands and asked the wide receivers to move the chains with yards after the catch.

Here are the last three third-down plays the Raiders called against the Chargers in a 17-16 loss in Week 6…

You have a shovel pass, a weird hook-and-ladder play and a receiver screen. The Raiders didn’t let their $125 million quarterback drop back and read the defense on any of those crucial plays.

Oakland needs to let Carr earn his money on third down. That’s why it’s paying him so much after all.

3. Carr’s lack of aggression

Carr deserves some blame for the Raiders’ struggles, as well. While he hasn’t been set up to succeed like he was in 2016, some of that falls on his tendency to hit his checkdown too quickly.

He has one of the best pass-blocking units in the league; Oakland’s line consistently gives him clean pockets to work with but Carr doesn’t always take advantage. Here’s one play where you’d like to see Carr be a little more patient and maybe take a chance downfield.

The line gives him plenty of time to at least give the route concept to his right a look. He may have been able to hit the receiver running the seam route for a big gain. Instead Carr goes right to his back for a modest gain.

Now, you’ll take these eight-yard gains all day (and the coaches may very well be encouraging Carr to get the ball out his hands as quickly as possible), but you still want chunk plays in order to avoid having to string together long drives.

The Raiders aren’t getting those chunk plays, and their execution hasn’t been good enough to sustain long drives. Carr has missed some routine throws due to poor footwork, the receivers have dropped passes and the running game isn’t producing consistent yardage. All of that adds up to the league’s 29th-ranked scoring offense and an underachieving quarterback who checks in at No. 15 in this week’s quarterback power rankings…

Tier 1

It’s time to say goodbye to Aaron Rodgers, who won’t be included in these rankings for at least a few months. It won’t be the same without him. That will leave us with only two Tier 1 quarterbacks going forward, and we could be down to one if Brees continues plays like he did against Detroit. A troubling trend for the Saints passing offense: Brees’ yards-per-attempt have decreased every game since Week 2.

We’re going to keep Smith at the top of Tier 2 after a poor game against Pittsburgh, but don’t be surprised if he starts to drop in the coming weeks as defenses continue adjust to the Chiefs’ beautifully-designed offense that has made things so much easier for the quarterback. Rivers leap-frogs both Newton and Stafford after those two combined for eight turnovers in losses. Wentz jumps up a tier and into the top-10 after an impressive performance against Carolina.

Palmer and Manning are trending up after fantastic weeks. Manning finally wasn’t asked to carry the Giants offense and responded with a mistake-free game against one of the league’s best pass defenses. Palmer also got help with Adrian Peterson finally providing Arizona with a run game. The Cardinals quarterback avoided the mistakes that have plagued his season thus far while continuing to gash teams with big throws downfield.

Tier 4

Winston and Mariota always seem to find each other in these rankings. Both are dealing with the same issue (inconsistent accuracy) in 2017, which has prevented both from enjoying that breakout campaign we expected from the 2015 draft picks. Watson continues to climb as he seems to get better every week. His play hasn’t been as good as his numbers have been, and I expect them to fall of considerably in the next few weeks, but the progress he’s shown over the last month is nothing short of amazing.

Tier 5

Flacco and Cutler are basically the same quarterback at this point in their careers. They’ve got big arms, they’ve made a lot of money and neither has lived up to his potential. Case in point: Keenum really has no business being in the same tier as quarterbacks this talented, but here he is after another solid display in a Minnesota win. At this point, the Ravens and Dolphins would take solid from their quarterbacks.

Tier 6

Brissett is never going to be a high-level starter in this league, but he is certainly a quarterback capable of leading a successful offense with the right pieces around him. Especially with his cheap price tag. Trubisky is playing about as well as you’d expect considering the receivers he’s working with. The Bears are rode their running game to a win in Baltimore, but the rookie made a couple of “WOW” throws under pressure. Brian Hoyer lost his job to an unheralded rookie with accuracy issues. That tells you everything you need to know about his season thus far. Hogan also lost his job after a dreadful game in which he threw three bad interceptions.

Best throw of the week

Here’s one of those “WOW” throws from Trubisky. There aren’t many quarterbacks in the league capable of making this deep throw on the run.

Worst throw of the week

DeShone Kizer had to be wondering why he got benched after seeing this one from Hogan. How do you miss a three-yard throw that badly from a clean pocket? Unacceptable.

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